They were never MEANT to do much with the villain.
The whole point of the finale was to bring back the pillars and save Stygian.
For once, the challenge/conflict WASN’T stopping the threat.
The Pony of Shadows was weakened and had very little sources of power, everything was stacked up against him.
The pillars could have easily beaten him by casting another spell,
but Twilight also wanted to find a way to prevent the pillars from being sealed.
That’s when the TRUE conflict of the finale came to light.
The fact that Stygian was misunderstood and harshly snubbed by the pillars.
He was trapped in corruption and needed saving with the help of some verbal encouragement.
Twilight didn’t see that at first, since she was blindly trusting her idol’s version of events.
Starlight was right on the money and spelled out the whole moral dilemma regarding her own circumstance.
Overall I think it’s a finale that grows upon several re-watches.
The amount of story and lore was incredible.
@Background Pony #9B69
True, but that doesn’t mean the PoS was ineffective as antagonist or that Haber should be given a hard time for this minor flaw.
@Background Pony #9B69
I wouldn’t say it’s filler; that would imply everything that happened after the Pony of Shadows made his escape was secondary or of lesser importance. Although we didn’t get to see what the Pony of Shadows was up to, we were given a look into the interesting dynamics between some the characters, notably Twilight, Starlight, and Starswirl. The interactions between them play into the final confrontation with PoS.
@Background Pony #9B69
Must we continue to give Haber flak for every single flaw in the episodes he’s written? While the Pony of Shadows admittedly did not have much of a presence after his initial introduction until the final battle, he still posed a legitimate threat to all of Equestria. As explained in the finale, he was traveling all over Equestria gathering darkness to build up his power, and until the cutie map showed them exactly where to go, the heroines had practically no clue where he was.
@Dizzy Pen
it was less anti-climactic than the other than villain defeats with the elements of harmony but it was more than just hitting with the magic
@cloudkicker108
Given his track record with two-parters, he has all the right to assume the worst. Although in my opinion Shadow Play was his most decent two-parter. The ending sucked hard, and was a major anti-climax to the built up, but at least it wasn’t something that was pulled out of nowhere and the rest of the episode was really solid (especially the flashback).
Definitely better than the contrived messes that were The Crystalling and To Where And Back Again.
I really wonder what changed between seasons. I know we had a few new writers working and that a lot of the old main writers were workin in the movie, but is that the real answer? Maybe it’s a season where fans of the earlier seasons are now calling the shots, or something else.
@Poptard
But unlike the Titanic, it didn’t sink in the end. I would say this is the best season of the show Overall. Very few mediocre episodes and tons of great ones.
Well now, that was actually a great piece of television. Good and believable character drama, lots of callbacks, and no Deus Ex Machinas to spoil your satisfaction. Season 7 has was like the Titanic: a great piece of television, but the ship was full of leaks.